Aba

The ABA-IPL Section sent proposed amendments to PTO Director Lee intended to lessen the burden on patent applicants encountering the Mayo/Alice Rules for patent-eligible subject matter. The proposed amendments list exceptions to eligibility. The exceptions are that the claims would preempt the use by others of all practical applications of a law of nature [ed. note: Including natural products?], natural phenomenon [ed. note: correlations between biomarkers and disease states?], or abstract idea.The proposed amendment to 101(b) then states the following:“Patent eligibility under this section shall not be negated when a practical application of a law of nature, natural phenomenon, or abstract idea is the subject matter of the claims upon consideration of those claims as a whole, whereby each and every limitation of the claims shall be fully considered and none ignored.”The proposed amendment ends rather cryptically by separating patentability under 102, 103 and 112 and … [Read more...] about ABA-IPL Section Proposes Amendments to s. 101 – Too much of a “Good Thing”?

was nominated by President Donald Trump for a position on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, but if the American Bar Association has anything to say about it, he won’t get the job. Grasz, a Nebraska attorney, has to be confirmed by the Senate, and the ABA issued a statement to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday about his qualifications. Their conclusion? He’s not qualified.The ABA rating system for judicial nominees offers three possible outcomes: Qualified, Well Qualified, or Not Qualified. The eight-page document explains that the ABA does not recommend Grasz because they believe his “passionately-held social agenda” clouds his judgment, preventing him from following judicial precedent.The consensus apparently was that there were doubts that Grasz could be “free from bias,” citing his documented disagreement with abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and how lower courts should work around them. While he … [Read more...] about ABA Deems Trump Judicial Nom ‘Not Qualified’ Due to ‘Passionately-Held Social Agenda’

ABA Legal Fact Check debuted in August and is the first fact check website focusing exclusively on legal matters. This article has been republished with permission.On Oct. 11, President Donald Trump suggested that NBC invited a challenge to its broadcast license because of its reporting on his administration. “With all of the Fake News coming out of NBC and the Networks, at what point is it appropriate to challenge their License? Bad for country!” Trump tweeted. The idea was roundly criticized and dismissed by legal experts as neither plausible nor legal. But on what grounds can a broadcast license be successfully challenged?The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates U.S. interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable and grants licenses to local broadcast and radio stations and not their national networks. The agency has revoked few licenses for violations over its 83 … [Read more...] about ABA Legal Fact Check: Can Television Networks Lose Their Licenses Based on Their News Reports?

ABA Legal Fact Check debuted in August and is the first fact check website focusing exclusively on legal matters. This article has been republished with permission. Q: “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a (expletive) off the field right now. Out. He’s fired. He’s fired!’” — President Donald Trump at an Alabama political rally on Sept. 22. But can government leaders or employers force individuals to participate, in the customary way, in national rituals such as the national anthem or the Pledge of Allegiance?When former San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick first knelt last year rather than stand during the national anthem to protest police violence against blacks in the U.S., his conduct set off similar actions by other pro athletes and a national debate. The conversation continued into this year, focusing … [Read more...] about ABA Legal Fact Check: Can You Be Forced to Participate in the National Anthem?

ABA Legal Fact Check debuted in August and is the first fact check website focusing exclusively on legal matters. This article has been republished with permission.“Not only did Putin add me to the Interpol list, but the US simultaneously revoked my visa,” tweeted American-British financier Bill Browder on Oct. 22. Browder is the hedge fund manager turned human rights activist who championed the Magnitsky Act, a 2012 U.S. law aimed at punishing Russians officials involved in corruption, which was passed following the mysterious 2009 death of Browder’s Russian lawyer while in custody. On Oct. 23, the U.S. government reversed itself, saying Browder’s revocation was an administrative mistake. But the brief flap raised the legal question: On what grounds can the U.S. revoke an individual’s visa?The initial action against Browder, an outspoken critic of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, triggered strong bipartisan criticism … [Read more...] about ABA Legal Fact Check: U.S. Revoked Visa of Putin Foe. Is That Legal?

ABA Legal Fact Check debuted in August and is the first fact check website focusing exclusively on legal matters. This article has been republished with permission. Q. The horrific shooting at a country music concert in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 renewed the unsettled national debate on gun control, including the legality of owning automatic weapons. What are the current state and federal laws governing restrictions on types of firearms a person can own, and what guidelines have the courts established in their review of cases?Aside from the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, for more than 80 years the National Firearms Act (NFA) has served as the foundation of federal law affecting ownership of guns. The federal statute, passed in 1934 and amended sparingly since then, is augmented by a mosaic of state and local laws that vary considerably and result in most of the more recent court challenges to gun restrictions.The 27 words of the … [Read more...] about ABA Legal Fact Check: Laws and Supreme Court Cases Behind Gun Control Debate

Floyd Abrams came out in support of professor and lawyer Susan Seager’s “libel loser” report. He said that the American Bar Association, which tried to edit the study, let itself get cowed rather than face a possible lawsuit from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.“The response of the ABA was one of institutional cowardice,” he wrote in his Tuesday article for The New York Daily News.Seager wrote an opinion piece for Law Newz on Tuesday, calling out the ABA for softening her report, “Donald J. Trump Is a Libel Bully But Also a Libel Loser.” In the report, she wrote that Trump filed seven speech-related lawsuits in the past 30 years, but failed to win any that were processed in public court. She said that rather than face a lawsuit themselves, the ABA tried to soften the language of her study. So instead, she got it published at the Media Law Resource Center.“I wasn’t worried that my censored words would create … [Read more...] about First Amendment Attorney Floyd Abrams Blasts ABA’s Censoring of Trump Report: ‘Institutional Cowardice’

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday rejected transit anticipatory bail applications filed by founding chairman of Ryan International School Augustine Pinto, his wife Grace Pinto and their son Ryan, in connection with the murder of 7-year-old Pradhyuman in Gurugram.Appearing for the applicants, advocate Niteen Pradhan sought further protection from arrest for his clients who have already been under protection by way of interim relief from September 12. The applicants intend to move Supreme Court.However, Justice AS Gadkari decided to extend the protection till 5 pm tomorrow (September 15) on the condition that the applicants submit their passports with the police on or before 9 pm today (September 14).In the anticipatory bail application, Pintos argued that they could not be held responsible for the murder as they were also “victims of the unfortunate circumstances”.Pradhyuman’s father Barun Chandra Thakur had filed an intervention application after the Pintos moved for … [Read more...] about Bombay HC Rejects Transit ABA To Pintos, Extends Protection Till Tomorrow On Condition Of Submission Of Passport [Read Order]

[JURIST] The American Bar Association (ABA) Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary [official website] gave Leonard Steven Grasz, a nominee to the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit [official website] a "not qualified" rating [statement, PDF] on Tuesday. In a statement sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Pamela Bresnahan [official websites], the chair of the Standing Committee, explained why Grasz [professional profile], an Omaha attorney, received the rating. Bresnahan said Grasz was scrutinized under the ABA's two-part review process [ABA backgrounder]. The first prong of the review is typically undertaken by a law professor, and the second by a practicing attorney. At the end of the review, each individual is given a "well qualified," "qualified" or "not qualified" rating.The statement enumerated a number of concerns the ABA has with the nomination of Grasz. Among them are the ABA's concerns with Grasz's reputation for being ill-tempered among his colleagues, what … [Read more...] about ABA committee gives 8th Circuit nominee ‘not qualified’ rating

The new ABA Model Rule 8.4(g) prohibits attorneys from engaging in "harmful," "derogatory," or "demeaning" speech in any activity "related to the practice of law," including "bar association, business or social activities."Proponents of the rule have advanced several arguments in its favor and raised several defenses in answer to its critics. But these arguments and defenses are unconvincing because they're based on factual misrepresentations or on mischaracterizations of the rule. Proponents of the rule summarily dismiss the many claims that it is unconstitutional Many legal authorities point out that the new rule is unconstitutional. Proponents of the rule simply ignore this ever-increasing chorus of constitutional criticism.The Texas and South Carolina attorneys general - the only attorneys general to have thus far opined on the rule - have both issued official opinions that it would likely violate the free speech, free association, and free exercise rights of attorneys. … [Read more...] about Gagging Attorneys: A Critical Look at the ABA “Anti-Discrimination” Rule